(no subject)

Friday I never left the house, barely spoke to anyone and went to sleep early. Saturday was much the same, with perhaps more sleep and less speech than Friday. This afternoon I looked out the window and watched snow coming down, wind-driven against the walls. I went back to reading. Looking up again, I saw the snow had stopped, the sky lightening and turning pink. I went back to reading. Looking up once more, I saw a darker sky, snow coming down in big, swirling flakes. I put on coat and hat, scarf and shoes, and walked outside.

The snow fell in feathery clumps that tickled your nose as they fell. The temperatures had been warm enough that the snow didn't stick to sidewalks where they'd been shoveled. Where sidewalks had been left untouched after last week's storms, snow covered with ice and frozen solid like broken chunks of rock or concrete, the new snow stuck. Most people had not shoveled their sidewalks. I climbed and descended twisting paths where sidewalks used to be. I walked beside a highway, sound of the cars hushed by falling snow. I walked in wooded neighborhood streets after the invisible sun had set, tall frosted trees waving greetings as snowflakes kissed me on cheeks and lips. Finally falling thick enough to overcome all resistance, snow covered everything under the glowing streetlights. I wiped snow-covered glasses on snow-covered coat, which for some inexplicable reason actually helped.

Arriving home, I walked through the door covered in white fluff like some abominable snowwoman, grinning in the dark.